


Intent

by nyssaoftraken



Category: The X files
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-25
Updated: 2016-05-25
Packaged: 2018-06-10 16:32:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6964519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyssaoftraken/pseuds/nyssaoftraken
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mulder gets Scully a dog. Scully wonders if Mulder is into her. Shenanigans ensue. Set in season 3 sometime after Quagmire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Intent

_Set in season 3 sometime after Quagmire_

 

Dana Scully was great at most things. She could catch up with and apprehend dangerous criminals, despite the unfortunate aspect of her height. She could put misogynistic government men in their place. She could perform autopsies and catch the tiniest details anyone else would miss. There was one thing she apparently could not do: keep a dog.

Fox Mulder had gifted her with a fluffy miniature schnauzer, jet-black with the longest, sloppiest tongue she had ever seen. It had a way of cocking its head to the side, its tongue hanging out, looking as though it were smiling. She. It was a she.

Scully had crossed her arms across her chest, eyebrows raised as she took in the image of Mulder with that goofy grin of his, holding the puppy out to her. He’d even put a yellow ribbon around her neck.

“Are you sure about this, Mulder? Seems a little dangerous, given my track record.” She tried not to think about poor Queequeg too often. The only dog she’d ever had somehow managed to be eaten by a mythical sea monster.

“I believe in you, Scully,” Mulder assured, pushing the black furball into her chest and she had no choice but to hold her. The dog struggled, trying to lick her face. Despite herself, Scully laughed, suppressing her disgust as it licked her straight on the mouth. She caught Mulder’s gaze over its head, but he looked away quickly. She dropped onto the couch, swinging her legs up and hugging the puppy in her lap. Mulder sat beside her, and it didn’t escape her notice that he left most room on his other side. He took up a lot of space, with those long legs of his, which now slightly brushed her knee. It was comfortable like this, and she was used to it. He never had much time for personal space. But lately, she’d become increasingly aware of it, of the way their forms complemented one another, how it was almost like his hands were the perfect size to envelop her own. She found herself increasingly imagining what it would feel like if he touched her with them consciously, purposefully, rather than naturally gravitating towards her, and she to him. There wasn’t much _purpose_ to their physicality, she couldn’t imagine he’d ever felt driven to stand close to her or grasp her shoulders for any other reason than being excited about the X files – and yet... 

She leaned into him a bit, he smelled strongly of ink and paper.

“What’s the occasion?”

“Maybe I just wanted to see the look on your face, G-woman,” he replied warmly. She realised she was still grinning from ear to ear. She ducked her head, kissing the puppy on the nose.

“Does she have a name?” Scully examined the blank tag on her collar. It was shaped like a UFO. Scully rolled her eyes and smiled.

“That’s up to you. I have a few suggestions, though,” Mulder’s brow furrowed and he dug in his pockets, drawing out a crumpled piece of paper. He unfolded it and licked his lips before speaking. Scully watched the movement, noting the way his bottom lip glistened. Uncomfortably aware of her own trailing thoughts, she looked away. 

“Let’s see... I got... Chewbacca?”

“Mulder. You can’t name my dog Chewbacca.”

“Why not?”

Scully paused. “She’s tiny and she doesn’t make that sound?”

“What sound?”

“You know... the ughrhahghhhh...thing...”

Mulder laughed, his eyes twinkling. “Okay, okay. Hear me out.” He paused for dramatic effect. “ _Pukwudgie_.”

“Puh-what?” She crinkled her nose. Somehow the name sounded familiar.

“C’mon. It’s just as ridiculous a name as Queequeg. You could give it a nickname... Puk or...”

“Wudgie?” Scully tried to suppress her giggle and it came out as a snort. She hugged the squirming puppy a little tighter, and received another lick on the cheek. Normally, she’d find that gross, but it was a little show of affection she could hardly deny. Suddenly, she gasped.

“Mulder! That’s a cryptid, isn’t it?” she said, straight-faced and unimpressed. “I remember now. Troll-like being from Wampanoag folklore.”

Mulder, on the other hand, looked impressed. “So you do listen to me!”

Scully sighed. “Don’t get too excited.”

“Did you know that the Pukwudgie is said to be able to disappear and appear at will? Wish I had that power at some of Skinner’s board meetings.”

“I’m serious! I don’t want another one of my dogs becoming an X file.”

“Well, uh...” Mulder looked down at his list and quickly back up to meet her eyes. He scrunched the list up in his fist. Scully frowned.

“You only had two suggestions?” 

Mulder smiled sheepishly, shrugging his large shoulders. Scully pursed her lips and grabbed at his hand.

“Mulder. Let me see the list!” she fumbled across him again, her head brushing his chest. He held it just out of her reach. _Dammit_. She stretched out again, feeling his chuckle against his chest, along with the strong sound of his heartbeat against her ear. She reluctantly rejected the urge to stay in that position longer, and he moved the paper upwards above his head. Scully lunged for it, landing awkwardly half in Mulder’s lap. Her face flushed as she looked down from his outstretched hand to his face, level with her own.

“Um...” she pressed her lips together, and his gaze was fixed there, as though fascinated. _Pull yourself together, Dana_ , Scully scolded herself. _You’re acting like a teenager. He doesn’t think about you that way_. It had been so long since she had been romantically involved with anyone, and she had been telling herself that was fine, but it grated on her when her mother asked every other month. She had barely noticed that he’d put his arms down, now, and his hands rested on her elbows. He was so gentle she had hardly recognised the touch that felt like a second skin, a part of her somehow.

“Does it seem cold to you in here?” Mulder asked suddenly. _Ah, that’s why he’s holding my arms; he thinks it’s cold_. Scully’s eyes traced the ridges of his face. She never noticed that he had a light dusting of freckles just under his eyes, so faint and delicate. That one strand of hair that curled at his forehead was maddeningly close to her, and she longed to push it back, but no, that would be too purposeful, that was against their code.

“No,” she replied breathily. “It feels warm, actually,” she felt her face flush again. Mulder leaned into her a bit and Scully stopped breathing, her heart hammering in her chest. _Is he going to kiss me?_ His gaze moved to somewhere behind her, and she turned her head at the unwelcome change.

“What... what is it?”

“The door’s open.”

“I know, I left it open because- oh, crap.” Scully jumped up, head whirling. “The dog. Where’s the dog?”

Mulder peered under the couch. “I think pukwudgies prefer dark spaces.”

Scully slapped him on the shoulder. “Mulder, shut up.” She grabbed her overcoat from where it was draped on the couch and shrugged it over her shoulders. 

“I can’t believe this,” she glanced out the window to see it was pouring down with rain. “I can’t even own a dog for five minutes without it wandering into the woods to get devoured by bigfoot or the loch ness monster or a... goddamn pukwudgie-”

“Scully-“

Angrily, she snatched the only umbrella from the stand and marched out into the rain. She heard Mulder’s thumping footsteps behind her as he struggled to catch up.

“You gonna let me hold the umbrella?”

“No,” she growled, snatching it back from him. “Mulder, go back inside, you’ll get wet. I have to fix this-“

“Chewbacca!” he yelled, striding forward with those damnably long legs. Scully rushed forward and covered him with the umbrella. He leaned down a little to remain under it. She flashed him a look.

“Dog!” she yelled, cupping her mouth with one hand. She tried whistling. The rain was heavier now, and she could feel each drop as she held the umbrella’s handle.

“Pukwudgie!” Mulder shouted, giving Scully a nudge and a crooked smile.

“Wudgie?” Scully tried, jumping over a tree root. 

“Puk!”

They continued like this for half an hour, struggling to think of nicknames the dog might respond to, circling the hotel grounds and the nearby trees until they were tired.

“Kappa!” Mulder called, hopeful even now. “Yowie! Hodag! Gunni-“

Scully grimaced, “Mulder, what the hell are you doing? If that’s some incantation to summon a pukwudgie I will literally-“ Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as he bit his lip. She stopped walking and he hit his head on the umbrella.

“That’s your list, isn’t it? All cryptids, all unexplained creatures?” she rolled her eyes as he grinned. “Not everything has to reference an X File-“

Scully gasped as Mulder stepped forward and suddenly slipped in the mud, landing on his back and sliding down a hill.

“Mulder!” Scully scrambled down the hill, but he was out of sight under some shrubbery.

“Mulder?”

“Scully!”

She cursed under her breath as she discarded the umbrella and used her hands to stop herself from falling, feeling the mud sticking between her fingers. The branches brushed painfully against her hands as she pushed them aside to see Mulder sprawled on the ground amongst some upturned roots. 

“Oh god, Mulder, are you okay?” She knelt beside him and fingered the large gash on his forehead. He winced. Selfishly, she pressed back that curl of hair that had stuck to his forehead in the rain, knowing he wouldn’t notice. Why should he be thinking about her in any way that wasn't as a coworker?

“It’s not deep. Are you dizzy?”

“I’m fine, Scully. I thought I heard-“ he paused, listening. Scully did too, but all she could hear was the rain. Then, a whimpering.

“Oh my god,” she whispered, heart surging. This might have a happy ending. No dog in the jaws of some unexplainable beast.

“Dog?” she called into the rain. “Puppy?” she sweetened her voice, following the sound. 

Scully turned a corner and behind a thick-trunked tree was the schnauzer, who rushed over to her and jumped into her arms when she knelt down, its tail wagging furiously. Scully laughed, pressing it to her chest, keeping it warm.

“Mulder! She’s here! I found her!” she was still smiling, and she tucked its head under her jacket, shielding it from the pouring rain. Mulder had stood up, looking decidedly and endearingly pathetic, his white shirt soaked through. He blinked furiously against the downpour, corners of his mouth lifting up in a smile. His gaze travelled from the dog to her face as she drew closer to him. 

“I think I’ve settled on a name,” Scully said. 

“Bigfoot?”

“Shut up. I’m thinking something normal. Very normal.”

“Well?”

“Dog,” she replied, grinning. “Just Dog.” The rain had subsided a little, allowing a few stray trickles of water to be visible in their individual journeys down the crevices of Mulder’s face. They gathered at the edges of his jaw, and Scully had the crazy notion of licking them off of him. Instead, she held Dog up to Mulder’s face and she did the work. Scully let out a full-bellied laugh, and Mulder shut his eyes against the onslaught, grimacing.

“It’s just like Breakfast at Tiffany’s – the cat has no name, just Cat,” Scully continued. “ _Poor slob without a name. I don’t have a right to give her one. We don’t belong to each other; we just took up one day. I don’t want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together_.” Mulder placed Dog back in Scully’s arms, pulling her coat more tightly around her. _And the dog. It would be too full of intent, otherwise_ , Scully thought. He stepped closer, his large hands tracing up her shoulders. She had to tilt her head back when he was standing this close, to view his face, you see, just a natural thing a person does when another, much taller person is close and they need to look into their eyes. But they were inching ever closer together, and all she could think was that he looked so very handsome in this light, with his arms around her, secure and-

Suddenly, his lips were on hers. Scully’s eyes widened for a second before she shut them and leaned into him, gently trailing his bottom lip. He tasted nutty, and the word made her smile a little, because it was an appropriate word to describe him. It was the sunflower seeds he loved, probably, but he tasted sweet, too. His hands were on her jaw, tracing soft little patterns. Consciously, she stepped up onto her toes and put her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her, and he murmured something incomprehensible as her fingers twisted in his wet hair. She held him there a moment before slowly disentangling herself. She looked up at him sheepishly.

“I got mud in your hair.”

“You gonna draw a bath?”

“For you?”

“Well, we both need to get cleaned up, don’t we?”

“Shut up, Mulder.”

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: Scully was reading Breakfast at Tiffany's in War of the Corpophages!


End file.
